The present invention relates to an automatic medicine packaging machine that packages each dose of medication. Specifically, the present invention relates to division-packaging method and apparatus for an automatic medicine packaging machine that allow stable packaging even when total volume of each dose of medication for making a package is bigger than packaging volume of any medication envelope established in the automatic medicine packaging machine and that prevent incapability of packaging due to excess volume of each dose of medication.
In general, an automatic medicine packaging machine continuously packages tablet-type medications that are dispensed per dose. The construction and operation of an automatic medicine packaging machine are explained as follows referring to FIG. 3. An automatic medicine packaging machine includes a plurality of tablet cassettes 100 that is built on a shelf in the upper part of the machine, a tablet dispenser 200 in the lower part, a hopper 300 that is constructed below the tablet cassettes 100 and the tablet dispenser 200, a printing unit 400, and a sealing unit 500 that feeds and seals medication envelopes on which instruction labels are printed by the printing unit 400.
The operation of the tablet cassettes 100, the printing unit 400, and the sealing unit 500 are controlled by a controller C that is installed inside the machine. The controller C operates to export each dose of medication from the tablet cassettes to a medication envelope via hopper according to the prescription data inputted from a computer server S. Each dose of medication exported to a medication envelope forms a medication package by heat-sealing process with the sealing unit 500.
However, the above prior art has a disadvantage as follows: Because medication packages that will be formed by the heat-sealing process of the sealing unit 500 have constant packaging sizes, that is, constant volumes of medication envelopes, the packaging of each dose of medication may not be stably achieved or it may not be possible to make a package when the total volume of each dose of medication extracted from the tablet cassettes for making a package is bigger than the packaging volume of any medication envelope established in the automatic medicine packaging machine.